Price of Godliness (Sickness)

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Wednesday April 5, 2017

Topic: Price of Godliness (Sickness)

Text: Job 2:7 – 10

Yesterday we saw how Job lost all his possessions because Satan was not happy that God had blessed him because he was a godly man; blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. Today we have the story of how Satan came back to afflict him with a sickness doctors can’t describe. What was his sin for this affliction? He refused to give up his godly life. He refused to curse God.

Some people would have concluded that he was not really a godly man if not why will these serial attacks come upon him. The comment of his friends who came to him proves this. Some people said such about me when within a period of 4 years; I underwent kidney transplant operation two times and a heart operation also. If not that we are reading the story of Job, we wouldn’t have known what transpired between God and Satan before the problem started.

If living a godly life can attract such persecution and trials, do we avoid godliness? No! What we stand to gain far more outweigh the immediate pains (2 Corinthians 4:16 – 18). Our body may wear away but our soul which will return to God is what matters. Job understood this too well when he said that he knows his Redeemer lives and that he shall see God even after his skin has been destroyed (Job 19:25 – 27). What an expression of faith! Job was a man of faith who confessed the resurrection of the dead. If we have such understanding as Job had, we will not fear sickness and death; rather sickness and fear of death will draw us closer to God.

Food for Thought: Job 19:25 – 27

Memory verse: 2 Corinthians 4:17

Prayer: Grant me the grace I need, O Lord, never to deny you in time of sickness in Jesus name.

God Blessed Him

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Sunday February 19, 2017        

Topic: God Blessed Him

Text: Genesis 32:29 – 30

Welcome to another new day and new week. Yesterday we saw how Jacob prevailed and was blessed with a new name after an encounter with the angel of God. Today we shall see more of the blessings he received from God in after that encounter.

We observed that after the encounter, Jacob asked the angel his name. The name of God you know determines the blessing you enjoy from Him. The blessing of God is connected to His name. In your walk with God, has He revealed his name to you? He did it to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Saul, etc. Knowing God by His name is a great way of improving our faith and confidence in Him. To know him the more, you should always read His word and listen to messages, and testimonies of what He has done. 

Jacob’s request to know the name of the person he wrestled with was denied that he might not be too elated with his conquest. Again, it was denied so he will not think that he had obtained such advantage over the angel as to make him (the angel) do what he wanted. However, God still blessed him as he requested for. See how wonderfully God condescends to countenance and crown importunate prayer! Those that resolve to trust in God even when He slays them will at length be more than conquerors. This was the resolve of Jacob to keep trusting God when his hip went out of position. Don’t let the ‘displacement’ in your health, your marriage, career, etc; affect your grip on God for a blessing.

Do you desire for a blessing from God? Then don’t border asking for His name, just trust Him for the blessings and they will certainly come. All you have heard and read about Him is enough to increase your faith and confidence in Him. His deeds correspond with His name – Counsellor, Mighty, Healer, Provider, Everlasting, Peace and wonderful Isaiah 9:6. Believe in Him to receive your own blessings today.

Food for Thought: Judges 13:17 – 18

Memory verse: Genesis 32 verse 29 – Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about my name?” And he blessed him there (NKJV).  

Prayer: Blessed me, O Lord and turn me into a blessing in Jesus name. Amen.

BLESSING FOR THOSE WHO MOURN

DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 16, 2016

Topic: BLESSING FOR THOSE WHO MOURN      

Text: Matthew 4 verse 4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.                   

People who mourn over their spiritual wants and over sin because they are guilty; people who long for spiritual blessings, and come to Jesus Christ for them, according to His directions are blessed (Revelation 3:18). This beatitude includes also all the mourning which children of God are subjected to by the chastening through which God prepared them for the everlasting joy of heaven (Compare Hebrew 12:5-12). 

Obviously, mourning for righteousness here is that entire feeling which the sense of our spiritual poverty causes, and so the second beatitude is but the complement of the first. It is poverty of spirit that says, “I am undone” – Romans 7:24; and the mourning it causes, make it to break forth in lamentation. Thus they shall be comforted as God promised (Isaiah 61:3).

Beloved in Christ, we should note that as mourning goes before comfort, so comfort shall follow after mourning. Our godly sorrow for our own and others' sins shall end in everlasting joy and comfort. Our mourning and tears for the ills of the present day shall end also in joy. Just like sowing in tears and reaping in joy so shall all those who mourn will be comforted because the days of their mourning shall soon end, and then God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Do you have that poor spirit that will lead you into mourning? Do you have the tears God will wipe away so as to comfort you?

Food for Thought: Revelation 21:4

Memory verse: Matthew 4 verse 4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Prayer: Give me the heart, O Lord, to mourn over my spiritual wants, sins and that of the world in Jesus name.

WHY GOD BLESSED THEM

DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 1, 2016

Topic: WHY GOD BLESSED THEM         

Text: 1 Chronicles 13 verse 14   

There is nothing we do for God wholeheartedly that doesn’t have a reward. When David honoured God by killing Goliath who defiled His name and army, God honoured him by establishing him as a king. When Joseph honoured God in a foreign land, God blessed him and made him a leader. If you want the blessings of God to rest upon you, serve Him wholeheartedly. Give yourself to His service and see what will be the result.    

From our scriptural reading for the day, one would have expected Obed-Edom to refuse housing the Ark of Covenant after the unfortunate incident that took the life of Uzza but he couldn’t disobey the King’s order. Moreover, he was a Levite (1 Chron. 15:18). The order from a king is always obeyed whether it is convenient or not. He accepted it in good faith. His action was like the submission of Mary to God's message through Angel Gabriel (Lk. 1:38). Obed-Edom may also have warned his family to steer clear of the Ark of Covenant, which made the entire family to enjoy God's blessings and peace within the period that Ark was there. It is the duty of husbands and fathers to teach their families obedience and reverence to God and all that belongs to Him. The reverence Obed-Edom and his family had on the Ark of Covenant brought blessings to them. God blessed him and all he had because of the Ark which stayed there for just 3 months. 

What would have happened in the family of Obed-Edom if the Ark had stayed longer than 3 months? The fear of what might happen didn’t affect the way his family treated the Ark. Sometimes in our actions, we focus only on the blessings God gives us, while forgetting that when we sin, God punishes us (Heb 10:31). At other times, however, we concentrate so much on judgment that we miss His blessings. Don’t fall into a one-sided view of God. Along with God’s blessings comes the responsibility to live up to His demands for fairness, honesty, and justice which we must adhere to, if we desire His blessings. Let this be your watchword this day, this month and always in Jesus name. Happy new month!

Food for Thought: Do you reverence Holy Things of God?

Memory verse: 1 Chronicles 13 verse 14

Prayer: Grant me the wisdom to do things that will bring blessings to me.